The mystical Deoria Tal and the beautiful journey that awaits you

When it comes to weekend getaways, a lot of us want to look at the less-explored options for all the variety and peace they offer. This trip from Delhi to Deoria Tal, Uttarakhand was a similar one and proved to be quite a delight with a view of the Himalayas, a good trekking experience and a brilliant feeling to go back with.

The idea of this trip sprung from a silly promise made to a friend to cover 14 less-explored places, with Deoria Tal being the first one on the list. Nothing was decided till 7 PM in the evening and suddenly by 7:30 we had 6 tickets booked in the Mussoorie Express a train that left later that night. Yes, that’s what happens when you have impulsive friends who give in to your whims and fancies and make such brilliant trips happen!

Getting to Sari Village, Uttarakhand

This train, Mussoorie Express (Train no 14041), leaves Old Delhi Station at around 9.30 PM (also stops at Ghaziabad at 11 PM). Since this train usually runs a little late, We reached Haridwar station at about 7 in the morning. While this train takes 9 hours to reach Haridwar, it is still a worthy option since it is an overnight train. There are other options as well (both trains and buses which run in the day) which take about 4-5 hours for the same. Once we had reached Haridwar, our idea was to take a private bus till Guptakashi or Rudraprayag and figure the way ahead. Another option was taking a taxi but the only taxi union of Haridwar was charging a price (around INR 6500 for a four seater) that was out of our budget.

We decided to try our luck at the UPSRTC Roadways bus stand, which is right outside the railway station, before heading to the private bus stand only to find that there was only one roadways bus till Rudraprayag that left around 6:30 – 7:00 in the morning. But there was a local taxi stand there where you can find shared taxis running to Srinagar, Rudraprayag, Agastmuni, Ukhimath and other places. We spoke to one of the drivers and he agreed to take us to Sari village in his Trax 10-Seater if we booked it for INR 4000. A word of caution here – The cheaper taxi which we hired wasn’t quite comfortable. If you have back problems, we suggest you to take a better car instead.

The drive uphill was amazing, with ganga flowing on the right. The views of the valley made it impossible to shut our eyes and miss out on the green gush of water.

We stopped after Devprayag for some refreshments and the Aloo-pyaaz Paranthes with Chai seemed like a complete treat there. We reached Rudraprayag around 1:30 PM and were delighted to find the spot where Jim Corbett killed the man-eating tiger of Rudraprayag. Of course another delight was the sangam of two rivers Alaknanda and Mandakini.

Jim Corbett’s Statue in RudraprayagSangam of Alaknanda and Mandakini in Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand

For lunch, our driver suggested a place right outside the town of Rudraprayag which is famous for ‘Machhi bhaat’ (Fresh water fish cooked according to the local recipe served with rice). For vegetarians there was dal bhaat which was equally scrumptious. This was our last stop before Sari Village, and it took us 2.5-3 hours more to reach Sari Village.

From Sari Village, we got our first glimpse of the snowclad mountains and a peek at the chopta village. We met Rakesh ji here who agreed to organize the stay, food and camp fire for us at Deoria Tal. We found that even Chopta Village was a good alternate option and was just a half hour of drive from Sari Village.

First Glimpse of Snowclad Himalayas from Sari Village, UttarakhandView from Sari Village, Uttarakhand

Trek to Deoria Tal and back

After taking a short tea break at Sari Village, we began our ascent to Deoria Tal around 6 PM. The climb uphill is quite steep but completely doable. Though horses are also available here in case someone is feeling unwell and for INR 200-250 you can take a horse ride till the Tal or send your luggage up. For amateur trekkers it will take around 1.5 – 2 hours, with breaks, to reach the destination.

When we reached Deoria Tal, all we could see in the moonlight was the lake with the reflection of Himalayas that surrounded it and snow all around us.

View of the Mountains when we reached Deoria Tal in the eveningView of the Mountains when we reached Deoria Tal in the evening

Rakesh ji had arranged for snacks, tea and campfire at the campsite which was five minutes away from the lake and the night was spent gazing at the stars and the town lights down below. Next morning we woke up early and got a few hours alone in the lap of nature.

A View of the Himalayas from the LakeLake and Mountains – A complete treat for a traveller! In the frame – Kapil Mehndiratta , Shubhadeep Bhattacharya and Biswajeet Sahu

We explored the area, went on a couple of short treks, found a machaan (a tree house like structure) with a great view of the area. This machaan is located right in front of the forest guest house.

Options of short treks around the campThat’s the view of the machaan we found. Also, that’s Sourav who has clicked these incredible photosA closer and clearer look of the Himalayas from the Machaan

Around 11 we came back to the camp, had breakfast and started our trek downhill. It took us around 45 – 60 minutes and we also stopped at a temple on our way back. Another short tea break at Sari Village and we were ready for the beautiful journey back to Haridwar from where we had to catch the 11 PM train back for Delhi.

Enjoying the last glimpse of this beautiful place

Tungnath and Chandrashila kept for another time soon, when the snow melts and the way is clear. But Deoria Tal had to be done in off season, with chill in the air and snow on the ground, with the reflection of snow clad Himalayas in the magnificent, magical, beautiful lake.

Additional treks which are possible here:

Deoria Tal to Chopta Village: Takes about 6-7 hours to cover a distance of 12 km

A trek from Ukkimath to Sari is also possible

Mythological belief :

The famous incidence of ‘Yakshaprashna’ of Mahabharata is believed to have happened at this particular lake only. When pandavas were on exile they came across this lake and decided to drink water. As soon as the brothers drank water from the lake they all fainted and fell on the ground. Then Yudhishthir, the eldest one, came and negotiated with yaksha (a mythological creature and the spirit guarding the lake) that every correct answer he gives one of his brother should come back to life. He gave all correct answers and all the pandavas came back to life. Since that time the water of this lake is considered unfit for drinking.

In another tale it is believed to be the lake where all the gods used to come down for leisure time. Hence the name, Deoria Tal.

How to reach

Direct bus from ISBT Anand Vihar, Delhi to GuptaKashi leaves at around 10 PM. Get down at Kund and take a bus or shared taxi to Ukkimath and another shared taxi to Sari.

Take a night train to Haridwar (Same as mentioned earlier in this article). From there go to the private bus stand which is 15 minutes of walk or INR 20 rickshaw ride from railway station. From Haridwar, take a bus or taxi to reach Sari. Follow the route as given below.

Stay

Stay at Sari, there are a few guest houses there. Start the trek in the morning.

Camp at Deoria Tal. Negi ji provides tents with sleeping bags and you can pick the equipment from Sari. He will charge around INR 500 per person (total INR 3000 for 6 people) for stay, dinner and breakfast. Negi ji – 09410241543.

Stay at tents provided by Rakesh ji. He will provide pre-pitched swiss cottage tents with 1-3 beds in one tent. Also there is a facility of semi permanent toilets in his camp, solar lights, camp fire and a kitchen where rakesh ji and didi will cook dinner, breakfast, Maggi and tea for you. The total came out to INR 600 per person including evening snacks, tea, dinner, breakfast, campfire and stay. (Rakesh Tourist Lodge : 09411534715, 09456534062)

Rakesh ji and didiThese are the Swiss Tents with 1-3 beds in each tent

What to carry

Torch, since there is no electricity up there at Deoria Tal

Medicines, especially the ones for motion sickness and vertigo. Volini or other muscle relaxant and a mosquito repellent like odomos.

Woollens – 2 sweaters, a jacket, cap, muffler, ear muffs and socks definitely required if you are planning on going anytime between December and February.

Published by

Akanksha

A born traveller who decided to go main stream and take the usual mechanical engineering and MBA route. Likes to take frequent breaks from the routine and get on the road to explore. Loves to help travellers plan a getaway. Whatsapp your travel queries @ +91.882.645.4643
View all posts by Akanksha

I can’t even believe there are such beautiful places in India (btw, i am from Ambala…close to Haridwar).
Your entire trip is so amazing to read. Thank you so much, i have an option now to visit easily.

Wow..What a mesmerizing place!! Photos are amazingly captured and the description of each n every place is marvellously described. Direct contact with nature. U guys hv made it so easy to reach such a pure place.. great job done..

Thank you Shubham. Yes, this was definitely a very memorable experience. Shall keep sharing all the experiences and do tell us if there is any particular location you would like to read about. Happy travelling 🙂

We are planning for a deoriatal – Chandrashila Peak Trek. I had a few questions.
1) How can we reach Sari from Haridwar Railway Station without being ripped off (financially.)
2) My main concern is food/water for the trek. Is there any good choice of food/water guide who can be helpful for us on the trek?

Think that’s all, I hope you do get the time for the replies. Also, I loved the article and I’ll make sure I keep coming back for more 🙂

Hey Sushant
Glad that you liked the article 🙂
So there are a couple of options for this journey

1) You could hire a taxi which will take you direct from Haridwar railway station to Sari, will get ample options out side the station only. so if you are a group of 5 or more this will be a good idea. You can tie up with the same guy to pick you up later from sari or Chopta depending on your plan.
2) You could get in on one of the shared taxi’s or busses that run on the route, though that will mean a lot of break journeys. You can get a bus direct to Dev prayag from where you will need to take a taxi for Rudraprayag. From Rudraprayag another shared taxi to Ukkimath from where you will have to take another transport for Sari. This way the journey will take much longer and also might not be very comfortable considering you have to trek for the next couple of days.
3) If you start for the trek from Sari, there are a couple of Dhabas there from where you can stock up. Also, you can ask Negi ji or mangla there (numbers shared on the blog) to help you with food and water on the journey. They have a camp at Deoriya taal and can carry tents and other supplies for you on the trek.
Do remember to carry torch lights and power banks for your camera as there will be no electricity in most of the places you will be trekking to.

Well-written article. I need your suggestion. We will travel to Uttarakhand in February. We wish to include Deoria Tal in between Rishikesh and Joshimath and keep 24 hours for this. Visit Deoria Tal after Rishikesh, camp at Deoria Tal and the next day proceed to Joshimath. Do you think it is doable?